Leo stood in the center of the devastation, his new, denser form feeling perfectly right. The overwhelming scale of the Titan was gone, but the power remained, a quiet, humming certainty in his core. He flexed a hand, watching the faint mineral flecks swirl within his jade-green gel.
[Sage, what can I do now?] he thought, his curiosity piqued.
A transparent, faintly glowing screen, a simple visualization for his benefit, appeared in his mind's eye.
[Current Skill Registry:]
[ > Passive: Adaptive Immortality]
[ > Passive: Energy Siphon]
[ > Active: Total Assimilation]
[ > Active: Terrakinesis]
[ > Active: Geokinesis]
[ > Active: Earthquake Generation (Minor)]
[ > Active: Terrakinetic Constructs]
[Query: Detailed explanation of [Terrakinesis]?]
[Terrakinesis: The ability to manipulate earthen materials—soil, stone, sand, and mineral deposits—with conscious will. This does not grant creation ex nihilo, only manipulation of existing matter.]
Fascinated, Leo pointed a finger at a nearby chunk of rubble. He focused, not on moving it with an invisible hand, but on the idea of the stone wanting to rise. The rock shuddered and then lifted smoothly into the air, hovering as if suspended in water. He let it drop.
[And [Terrakinetic Constructs]?]
[Terrakinetic Constructs: A sub-application of Terrakinesis. Allows for the shaping of earthen materials into complex, solid forms. Proficiency depends on the user's focus and familiarity with the desired object.]
He looked at the pile of rubble that was once the Titan's arm. He envisioned a simple wall. With a rumble, the shattered rocks and dirt slid across the ground, interlocking and compacting until a rough but solid stone wall, ten feet high and three feet thick, stood before him. It was crude, but it was unmistakably a wall he had built from thought alone.
A deep, satisfied feeling settled within him. He was no longer just a creature that things happened to. He could make things happen.
He began to walk, his movement a smooth, silent glide over the broken ground. His destination was unknown, but the act of moving felt good. As he left the colossal crater behind and re-entered the twisted, but still standing, periphery of the forest, a thought surfaced.
[That was fun. I hope I don't run into that big bear again.]
[Clarification: The entity designated 'Gloom Bruin' posed no threat. Its energy signature is negligible compared to your current state.]
[The bear? No, the other one. The really, really big one. The... angry walker?] Leo's thoughts fumbled, the name and precise image of the Forest Titan already fading, leaving only a vague impression of immense size and a lot of noise.
[You refer to the Forest Titan. The entity you have Assimilated.]
[Oh. Right.] The memory was hazy, like a dream after waking. He remembered the feeling of power, the blinding light, and the satisfaction of becoming something new. But the Titan's face, the specifics of the fight... they were getting fuzzy. He remembered the event, but the participant was becoming a blur. [Well, it was very loud. I'm glad it's gone.]
He had completely and utterly forgotten the Shadow Jackals. Their skittering forms and hot, sharp energy were lost to him, mere footnotes in a story he was already misplacing.
He moved on, a placid, jade-green slime gliding through a forest that now subtly recoiled from his presence. The lesser monsters sensed the condensed terrestrial power within him, the faint aura of a fallen titan. They hid, they froze, they fled. The path before him was becoming clear not by his own design, but by the terrified deference of the entire ecosystem.
He was now the most dangerous thing in this part of the Dark Forest, and he was blissfully unaware of the scale of his own power, his mind already moving on to the next simple, curious thought. Where should he go next? And was there anything else around here that was as interesting as that loud, walking mountain he could barely remember?